USAF Helicopter Pilot Association

Texas
Tower Helicopter Support

Otis
AFB, MA

The
Texas Towers were a set of off-shore radar facilities used
by the United States Air Force during the Cold War that were
modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employed off
the Texas coast. The platforms were used for radar surveillance of
the Atlantic Ocean near the eastern seaboard of the United States
from 1958 to 1963.

On
January 11, 1954, the USAF approved the construction of 5 Texas
Towers as part of the Air Defense System. Only three were built:

No.
4 - Unnamed Shoal(Unofficially: Old Shakey) , in 185-foot water,
84 miles south-east of New York City.

The
towers were phased into operation between 1958 and 1960.

Texas
Tower #4 suffered severe structural damage during Hurrican Donna
in September 1960 and, before repairs could be completed, was
destroyed by a winter storm on January 15, 1961. Twenty-eight
airmen and civilian contractors were manning the station; none
survived.

With the
advent of Soviet ICBM's, the bomber threat was reduced in
importance. Thus due to a lower need and the perceived risk, the
remaining two towers were decommissioned in 1963 and demolished
shortly thereafter.

Notes
from Ron Mecklin - In 1959, I was rotated back to
the states and posted to Otis AFB, MA to fly the H-21B in the Air
Rescue mission. Otis was a very active base with units of
F-101 fighters, C-121 radar picket A/C and C-97 aerial refueling
aircraft. While assigned there I was sent to Goose Bay,
Labrador on a temporary assignment to fly Air Rescue missions in
that area.

My last assignment with
the H-21 was there at Otis AFB flying radar site support missions
to the three active Texas Towers located off Cape Cod and Long
Island. Again, we were to provide personnel and
parts/equipment transport to these off shore sites. We
scheduled weekly trips to each radar station and were available
for medical evacuation and ROCP parts or Specialist
equipment/personnel transport. Because of the extensive over
water flying, we flew each mission with two helicopters in case
one went down with a problem. This would have provided rapid
rescue of personnel in the case of an emergency. This
provided a bit of a problem at the tower site because there was
only room for one helicopter on the flight deck. We would
land one aircraft while the second orbited the Texas Tower.
When the first aircraft was unloaded and re-loaded and refueled,
it would take off and orbit waiting for the second aircraft to do
the same. When it became airborne, we would fly back to Otis
together.

The Otis AFB based 'Texas
Tower' H-21B 's had very successful off-shore (256km) round trip
people and things transport missions. The Texas Tower Helicopter
Pilots were assigned to the 551st AEW&C Wing, Operations
Squadron. Otis AFB, Massachusetts. Some of the Pilots were Allan
'Sonny' Hopkins, Ed Flanigin (later at Edwards), Wilbur Parker, Ed
Brooks, Robert Naylor and myself, John H. McLeaish. I flew 1200
hours in support of the Towers.

Here's Texas Tower #2 - 128nm
east of North Truro, Mass (Cape Cod) --H-21B's were the
mainstay of personnel and magnatron and other material support.
Landings were somewhat hampered by wind over the radomes. We used an
increased RPM landing technique --never had a landing or take-off
accident.

Here's an H-21B on
final for a landing aboard TT-2.

Note the flotation
bags on the side of the aircraft. Only 'tested' once --in actual
use!!! Only one H-21B had to be ditched at sea and the flotation bags
(untested) worked as advertised. The crew stepped into the life rafts
and were hoisted aboard the second H-21.

All missions originated from
Otis AFB and without refueling. All were max gross flights. We had
'steel' rings installed in the R1820-103 Wright recip engine.

During my three years at
Otis and the Texas Tower H-21B operation, I wrote the study for a
twin turbine replacement for the 21' . The V-107 (CH-46) was
addressed as the most likely candidate but they wound up with
'cast-off' CH-3Bs after I'd left. (At least it was two engines!
That Atlantic water temp never got above 47 degrees and our H-21's
all developed "strange" noises the further out to sea on
every mission!) Just nickel knowledge.

LTCOLJohn H. McLeaish USAF (ret)

In 1963, three
CH-3B's were purchased from the Navy and flown directly from the
Sikorsky factory to be placed into service supporting the Texas
Towers.

The CH-3B in the
center photo (62-12574) was named the “Otis Falcon”. It
made a flight from New York to Paris, France in 1963.

I recently received some correspondence from Harold
Brattland and his effort to document the last few years of the Texas
Towers mission at Otis Air Force Base. This was his first
helicopter assignment and when he arrived Texas Tower IV off the
coast of New Jersey had already been lost to a hurricane with 28
personnel meeting a horrible death. We had 10 H-21’s
assigned to service these Radar Towers. Texas Tower I was never built
off the coast of Maine, Tower II was 110 miles off the coast of N.H.,
Tower III was 65 miles off the coast of MA. The H-21 was not
capable of operating in the hurricane conditions that brought down
Tower IV and the supply ship out of New Bedford could not effect a
rescue, although they were on scene. As the result of this
failure, the Air Force became suddenly interested in a more capable
helicopter and decided to borrow HSS-2 helicopters from the Navy.
As a result of the HSS-2/CH-3B being assigned to Otis AFB, John
Arthur and I were the first IP’s, FE, SE’s, etc. and got
to develop much of the doctrine, mission of the USAF’s first
exposure to a large twin turbine helicopter. Besides training
our local crews, we were involved in many interesting missions as the
AF warmed to the realization that it finally had a truly capable
helicopter. This was furthered by Sikorsky’s realization that
they had affected a coupe in the task of entering the USAF market for
a new generation helicopter. The summer White House for Kennedy was
located in Hyannisport and we were already up to our ears in every
type of support. It helped that the Presidential Helicopters
were plush versions of the aircraft we were flying with all weather
qualified crews. It also led John Arthurs and I into assistance
in development to the CH-3C at Sikorsky. That is a story that
Harry Dunn can tell much better than I.

I have decided to submit some items that deal with the first
years of the HSS-2/CH-3B/CH-3C mission that I participated in.
First item is John Arthurs and I flew the Photo Ship for the first
satellite broadcast on national TV from the US to Europe. We
flew out of the UN Rose Garden and the subject was the New York
skyline from Statue of Liberty, down the East River to the U:N
Building. The year was 1962. The next item is the flight
of the Otis falcon in 1963 from Otis AFB to the Paris Air Show.
John Arthurs, William Lehman and I were the pilots on this flight.
I kept a log at the request of Mal Burgges and Danny DeVito of
Sikorsky. A copy is supposedly at the Air Force Museum at
Wright-Patt where it may be gathering dust. The aircrew was
awarded DFC’s and were also nominated for both the Harmon and
McKay International Trophy by ADC. Naturally we did not win but
I have always enjoyed the thought of all those ADC fighter pilots
dealing with a helicopter crew as their nominee for the year’s
outstanding aerial flight. The last item is Capt. Frank Kelley
and I picking up the 1st CH-3C from Sikorsky factory
assembly line.

William A. Scott III

Major USAF – Ret.

For the complete
story on the planning, construction and operation of the Texas
Towers,